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Concert and film producer Gary Harmon—whose organization brought a series of celebrities to perform in Morgan Hill in recent years—is accused of stealing more than $500,000 from local victims, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office.Harmon was arrested by police in Las Vegas, Nev., March 23, on a warrant from Morgan Hill Police Department. He is currently being held in Las Vegas, without bail, while authorities determine if and when they can transport him back to Santa Clara County, according to MHPD Sgt. Carson Thomas.He was arrested on a $250,000 warrant for grand theft and other charges, police said.Specifically, Harmon faces two counts of grand theft and three counts of securities fraud (violations of the California corporations code), according to Deputy DA Erica Engin.Harmon, formerly a Morgan Hill resident, also faces an “aggravated white collar crime” enhancement to the charges, which means he is accused of stealing more than $500,000 from his victims, Engin added.If convicted of all five charges, Harmon faces a maximum penalty of 16 years in prison.Harmon has not been formally arraigned in Santa Clara County court yet, but he had an extradition hearing in Clark County, Nev. March 27, Engin said. Once he enters local custody, Harmon will have the option to post bail or bond before his arraignment.Engin said the specific facts of the allegations against Harmon are not public information yet. But Mike DiRubio, a Morgan Hill resident and former associate of Harmon’s, said he called police more than a year ago to report that Harmon had “embezzled” $250,000 from him. The alleged embezzlement occurred while Harmon and DiRubio worked together for ARTTEC, a media arts and training production program that produced a number of concerts featuring big-name celebrities in Morgan Hill in 2013 and 2014. These include the 2013 Kihncert at the Outdoor Sports Center, which featured Greg Kihn, Bret Michaels, dada, The Tubes and Tommy Tutone; and a March 2014 fundraiser featuring the 1990s hit band SmashMouth at Troy’s Bocce Ball at Tennant Station.Then in August 2014, ARTTEC’s local summer concert series, which also raised money for various causes, brought Queensryche, Kiefer Sutherland and his band ZZ Lightfoot, Survivor and Dennis Rodman to the Community and Cultural Center’s Downtown Amphitheater.Harmon is the director of ARTTEC, which is now listed on the Nevada Secretary of State’s website as a domestic nonprofit corporation.Harmon and associated production companies have also been embroiled in a number of civil lawsuits, many involving financial transactions, in Santa Clara County Superior Court in recent years.One of these was filed in July 2015 against DiRubio, who said this “frivolous lawsuit” was a retaliation against DiRubio for reporting him to the police. That complaint, filed by Harmon and ISE Entertainment, accuses DiRubio of libel, slander and misrepresentation. The complaint cites statements made in public in which DiRubio accused Harmon of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars that DiRubio invested in ISE Entertainment. In the complaint, Harmon denies he stole the money.DiRubio denies Harmon’s allegations.Police have not confirmed that Harmon’s arrest is related to DiRubio’s accusations.ISE Entertainment is listed as a domestic corporation on the Nevada Secretary of State’s website.Harmon also currently has a lawsuit against country-western musician Willie Nelson, actor Kerry Wallum and others, accusing them of fraud related to a film production deal that allegedly failed.Harmon and ISE Entertainment, of which he is also director, are the plaintiffs who filed that lawsuit in 2015. But that lawsuit follows a previous one filed in 2013 by Wallum against Harmon, which claimed Harmon is the one who defrauded the film investors.Also in 2013, Harmon and associates sued the Sobrato Arts Foundation for Education, claiming SAFE refused to pay the plaintiffs’ salaries while they worked for the defendant. SAFE has denied those allegations.More details about MHPD’s allegations against Harmon and upcoming court dates will be published as they are available.

Nearly two dozen wells in San Martin may have been contaminated with harmful bacteria after two substantial sewage spills occurred during heavy rains this winter. While the City of Morgan Hill is trying to accelerate the necessary upgrades to its system to prevent future spills, San Martin residents are miffed about not having a seat at the table.The city’s sewer line through San Martin “exceeded its capacity” during this winter’s heavy rains at least twice, resulting in more than 250,000 gallons of sewage spilled into a nearby creek and surrounding properties, according to city staff. Another spill occurred in the city limits during one of the storms that affected San Martin.At the March 15 city council meeting, the council approved an extension of a contract with Alpha Analytical Laboratories to expand its water testing duties to the private water wells in San Martin surrounding the areas of the spills. City staff estimate this scope of work includes at least 22 wells that might have been exposed to sewage contamination.The fear among San Martin residents is that harmful bacteria—particularly E. coli—that thrive in raw sewage might make its way into the groundwater, San Martin resident Sara Nicolson told the council.“How do you take a shower in possibly contaminated water?” Nicolson said. “Imagine raw sewage in your well. This issue is really important to us.”Meanwhile, a state agency is investigating the sewage spills, and will soon determine what amount of fines and other penalties the city owes.Others who spoke thanked the city for reaching out to San Martin in response to the spills in January and February, including a March 7 meeting hosted by city staff. But they also criticized Santa Clara County officials for being unresponsive, and urged the city to improve its communication efforts by developing a quick response plan for future spills.“I ask the city to put together an immediate response when you have issues like this come up,” Nicolson added.The contract extension with Alpha Analytical was approved at a maximum cost of about $208,000. The existing contract also includes routine testing of the city’s supply of drinking water to ensure it is safe, according to a city staff report.“Property owners with private wells at risk will be contacted and offered to have their wells tested for bacterial contamination,” read the staff report.The council also unanimously directed city staff to do what they can to complete a $3 million “secondary (sewer) trunk line” that will “provide the wastewater collection capacity to meet the city’s growth over the current General Plan horizon (until 2035),” says the staff report. The 30-inch line will be built in phases, with the last two phases on schedule for completion by 2019.The new line will run from Highland Avenue to Las Animas Avenue, and connect to the South County Wastewater Treatment plant in Gilroy.Morgan Hill Public Works Director Karl Bjarke told the council that the city has already applied for permits from Santa Clara County to complete the trunk line. The project site is in the county’s jurisdiction. Bjarke added that the city is “at 30 percent design” on the next phase of the new trunk line, and he expects to have permits by this fall.Hefty fines on the horizon?The Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board is the state agency that regulates incidents like sewage spills. The board is currently in the process of investigating the spills emanating from Morgan Hill’s infrastructure, according to RWQCB Environmental Scientist Jill North.The city will likely be on the hook for fines and penalties related to the spills, one of which flooded West Little Llagas Creek with about 190,000 of raw sewage during a Jan. 8 storm. That spillage took place on Harding Avenue just north of Highland Avenue in San Martin.Another spill on Jan. 8 occurred in the city limits, at Monterey Road and Ciolino Avenue, according to Morgan Hill Deputy Director for Utilities Dan Repp. That incident spilled about 62,000 gallons of sewage.Then on Feb. 20, a third spill of about 70,000 gallons of sewage occurred, during another heavy downpour, also on Harding Avenue. This spill occurred despite the city placing a “mobile pumping and capture system” to enhance capacity after the Jan. 8 storm, Repp added.“We were able to recover some of that release, so the total (spillage) is about 55,000 gallons,” Repp said.Repp explained these sewage system failures are due to “infiltration and inflow” of stormwater and groundwater into the existing pipes, which cannot hold the capacity of combined sewage and outside water during significant storms.Inflow consists of non-wastewater entering the sewer system through manhole covers, while infiltration is groundwater entering through broken pipes, joints and other system components. This combination of factors is directly related to heavy rainfall, said Repp, added that the city has about 169 miles of wastewater pipe in it system, “in various states of repair.”The maximum total fine that RWQCB could impose on the City of Morgan Hill due to these spills is about $3 million, Repp said.However, city staff are hoping to negotiate with RWQCB by spending funds on the new trunk line and other system improvements, in an effort to reduce the potential monetary fines.“The city will work with the RWQCB to invest our resources in projects that permanently resolve the issue for the benefit of all involved, and especially the residents of San Martin,” City Manager Steve Rymer said in a statement. He added that the new trunk line is a “high priority” for the city.But between now and 2019, when the new sewer line is scheduled to be completed, “we’re still vulnerable to situation,” Repp told the council.San Martin Neighborhood Association President Trina Hineser was one of three San Martin residents who addressed the council March 15. She said residents feel neglected, particularly by county officials who have been largely unresponsive to requests to place the spillage on a meeting agenda.“The residents shouldn’t have to be begging for help,” Hineser said. “It’s really important that we communicate as best we can. I ask the council to ask (County Supervisor Mike Wasserman) to put this on the agenda for the next (San Martin Planning Advisory Committee) meeting.”

Local animal lovers received some good news from the city council last week: Morgan Hill Police Department is going to hire a full-time animal control officer for the first time in nearly six years.The five-member council March 15 unanimously approved this update to the city’s public safety master plan, as well as the re-establishment of MHPD’s “Street Crimes Team.”Police Chief David Swing recommended the changes and addressed the master plan updates before the council.The city’s animal control officer position was eliminated in 2011 as part of a larger budget cut due to declining revenues during the Great Recession. Since then, MHPD has continued to provide animal control services. However, these tasks have been performed by the city’s multi-service officers, who handle a variety of other responsibilities.“The value of an animal services officers is, it will increase the capacity during daytime efforts, and free up the multi-service officers to take property crime reports and other functions, as those jobs were originally intended,” Swing said.He added that filling the animal control officer position again will meet a “strong desire in our community to continue to have that expertise.”Two Morgan Hill residents who currently volunteer to help and rescue local animals spoke in favor of Swing’s proposal March 15. Jennifer Lepow, co-founder and president of All Animal Rescue and Friends, said the city’s MSOs “can’t be available as much as needed.”The All Animal Rescue group, which is run entirely by volunteers, helps in the capture of loose dogs, cats and other animals, and they assist residents with their animal-related issues “as much as we can,” Lepow said. But the group is not equipped or deputized to respond to some animal services tasks, such as performing welfare checks for neglected animals, compiling abuse reports, responding to dog bites and attack complaints, and issuing citations for theft of an animal, hoarding or other offenses.“These issues do exist in Morgan Hill,” Lepow said. “The city needs a full-time animal control officer to be able to handle them.”The animal control officer position will be added to the city’s current two-year budget this summer. Swing said the position will cost about $100,000 in personnel expenses, but there are no startup costs because MHPD already has a truck and other equipment necessary for the position.Councilman Rene Spring said the addition is “money well spent.”“I think there is a need,” Spring said. “For me, cats and dogs are residents too. They’re family members.”Street crimes team returnsThe council also approved the reassignment of a detective from the Drug Enforcement Administration task force to the city’s soon-to-be-reinstated Street Crimes Team. The detective was assigned to the federal drug task force in 2015, but Swing said having that officer working on local street crimes would help increase the department’s capacity and respond to crime spikes and trends, as well as seasonal offenses such as package thefts.The officer and Street Crimes unit would also improve MHPD’s gang-related intelligence gathering and suppression, Swing added.“The reinstatement of the Street Crimes Team would provide for increased deployment of two sworn officers during peak periods of weekend evenings or an additional 40 hours of directed enforcement coverage,” adds a staff report presented to the council by Swing.By not participating in the DEA task force any longer, the city will lose out on about $60,000 in “annual recurring revenue” from seizures and forfeitures. However, that cost pales in comparison to hiring a new officer, which is time consuming and would run about $200,000 per year, Swing added.The officer will be reassigned by April, and the Street Crimes Team will be at work by this summer, Swing said.MHPD’s annual budget is about $15.6 million.

Even with a giant new public garage, a shortage of parking near popular restaurants and shops in downtown Morgan Hill is resulting in lost business and more headaches, according to some who spoke to the city council on the issue March 15.

AccidentMinor injuries were reported in a four-vehicle collision at the intersection of Tennant Avenue and Butterfield Boulevard March 16. The accident was reported 6:48 a.m.The driver of a dump truck that flipped over in a two-vehicle collision suffered major injuries and was transported by helicopter to San Jose Regional Medical Center. The accident occurred on Monterey Road near the intersection of Burnett Avenue, about 3:20 p.m. March 14. The truck driver suffered head trauma as a result of the accident. The driver of the other vehicle was also transported to Regional Medical Center.Auto burglaryA thief or thieves broke into a vehicle on the 14700 block of Monterey Road and defecated inside. Stolen from the vehicle were money, registration papers and charging devices. The crime was reported 1:42 p.m. March 16.Someone broke into a GMC pickup outside Safeway grocery store, 840 E. Dunne Ave. Stolen were money and tools. The crime was reported 8:08 a.m. March 17.A thief or thieves broke into a Nissan Versa parked at In n Out, 895 Cochrane Road, and stole a bag. The crime was reported 5:17 p.m. March 15.Stolen vehicleA green 1997 two-door Honda Civic and a red four-door Honda Civic were stolen from parking spots on Wright Avenue. The crimes were reported 8:26 a.m. March 15.Dogs running looseA man was out jogging with his dog on a leash when two unleashed pet canines approached and bit his dog. The loose dogs were described as an Australian shepherd mix and a greyhound. The incident was reported 5:04 p.m. March 16 on Monterey Road.TheftSomeone broke into a cluster of mailboxes at an apartment complex on La Alameda Drive. The crime was reported 8:06 a.m. March 17.All subjects are innocent until proven guilty. Information is compiled from public records.

New lighting and crosswalk signals installed in downtown Morgan Hill recently are designed to make the neighborhood safer for pedestrians, according to city staff.The improvements, which have been in the works since late 2015, include new in-ground flashing lights at the Third Street crosswalk at Monterey Road. Pedestrians activate the lights by pushing one of four buttons located at each corner before they cross Monterey Road.These lights are expected to be operational by early next week, according to City Manager Steve Rymer.Rymer gave an update on the city’s downtown pedestrian safety improvements at the March 15 city council meeting. He noted that the council has previously agreed to install these flashing lights at the Third Street crosswalk before trying similar measures at other downtown intersections.City crews also recently installed overhead lights in the Monterey Road median at the First, Third, Fourth and Fifth Street crosswalks. These lights are designed to improve motorists’ nighttime visibility of pedestrians as they cross these intersections.The council also unanimously approved a $306,000 contract with Mike Brown Electric Co. to install a traffic signal at Monterey Road and Fourth Street at the March 15 meeting. The five-member body previously directed city staff to begin the process of installing this signal, and implement more lighting and other pedestrian safety measures, in September 2015.Installation of the Fourth Street traffic signal is scheduled to begin in April, and complete by July, according to city staff.The city’s goal in redeveloping the downtown—a process that started vigorously in 2015—is to attract visitors and new residents, while making it safer for pedestrians and bicyclists, according to city staff.Other safety improvements downtown that are unique to the neighborhood include bright orange hand-held flags that pedestrians can carry across key intersections to make themselves more visible, resurfacing and narrowing of Monterey Road vehicle lanes and the installation of signs labeling the right travel lane on both sides of Monterey as a bicycle lane.Downtown was the site of two accidents involving pedestrians in 2016. On July 4, two children were struck by a Jeep and injured while crossing Fourth Street at Monterey Road. On March 12, 2016, two women were struck by a Ford while they were crossing Third Street at Monterey Road.Both accidents occurred at night.

Editor’s note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the purpose of the brief filed by the city council. City Attorney Don Larkin clarified that the “amicus” brief approved by the council in closed session March 15 indicates the city’s support for Santa Clara County’s lawsuit against the Trump administration, and lists concerns that the city thinks the federal court should take into consideration regarding the county’s complaint. The story below has been updated to reflect this clarification.

Three young girls and their family members will again be spared from reliving the sordid details of a child molestation case involving their former grade school teacher after an $8.25 million settlement was finalized March 15 in Santa Clara County Superior Court.

Auto burglary